Homily for  August 25th, 2002
21st Sunday,  Year A,  Matthew 16:13-20.

 

In today’s Gospel Jesus asks his disciples a key question, one whose answer would have a tremendous impact on their lives and change them all,  “But who do you say that I am?”  Are we ready to have it change our lives?

 

At one level, we are observers of this little drama as it plays out.  We can look at what happened intellectually from the outside.  But the Gospel is the living Word; it is alive today.  It is meant for us to experience it, not just listen to it, and so we have to get inside the Gospel and try to feel what was happening for ourselves.

 

This Gospel is a very good passage to practice the art of contemplation as St. Ignatius Loyola defined it.  Contemplation literally means placing yourself in the same time as the action, "con" and "tempo" - with - the time -  and then imagining what might have happened next.  It is one of the most powerful ways to pray and to open yourself to what God wants to say to you.

 

So let’s set the scene.  Jesus and his disciples have gone away to Ceasarea Phillipi, a bit of a remote district and it has helped them to get away from the crowds.  This is a good time for Jesus to talk seriously to his team without distractions and to deal with any concerns.  Just the same way we need to get away once in a while when we need to think about something important.

 

So here we are, away in a quiet place with Jesus and our friends.  Picture yourself there, see the others, feel the rough material of the clothes you would have been wearing, smell the dust on the roads, and then Jesus asks, “Who do people say I am?”

 

Now, that’s an easy question.  In fact it sounds as if the disciples are even having a bit of fun at the expense of the “common” people.  They think you are John the Baptist!  You can almost hear the mocking tone, the superior attitude that says “but we know better, don’t we guys?” 

 

We must be careful we don't share a bit of that attitude today as we read this, with 2000 years of history to separate us and we think, “How could those people have thought that, how simple they were, or how silly!”  Try to imagine being there and how you might feel about it.

 

Notice as well that none of them gave the bad answers.  They said, John or Elijah or a prophet, all good answers, but I’m sure they had heard some of the people say, “Jesus is a phony, a radical, a troublemaker or even as the Pharisees said, a servant of the devil himself!”  They weren’t quite ready to share those things with Jesus, they just hoped those people would go away.

 

So here we all are, feeling superior to the common person as a special chosen disciple of Jesus, enjoying a moment of being with the “IN” crowd and Jesus turns to look at us with the zinger, “But who do you say that I am?”

 

Uh oh.  Imagine the moment of silence as each disciple is now faced with the difficulty of searching his own heart for an answer.  No more talking about the misconceptions of other people.  Now you have to put it on the line.  This is one of those “turning point” questions that only come within a close relationship.  One of those questions whose answers will change you.  One of those questions where the answer is not just information but a complete commitment.

 

How many remember that first time a special someone said to you “Do you love me?”  And now you have to answer from the heart, no more casual conversation.  For just a moment time stands still as you know how crucial your answer is.

 

On a lighter side, it’s kind of like when a wife tries on a new outfit and asks her husband, “Am I too old to wear this?”  Time stands still and your answer will be very important.

 

And so Jesus asks his disciples, “But who do you say that I am.”  And as the others hesitate and consider their answers, Peter steps right in and answers, “You are the messiah, the Son of God!”, not "I think you are", but “You are!”  His answer comes from faith, from his heart not his head.  Just like the husband who see his wife through the eyes of love and answers, “No, it makes you look younger!” because in the eyes of love she will always be perfect. 

 

Imagine how shocked the disciples must have felt, and try to feel it yourself.  Can you imagine how it must feel to be part of a suppressed people hoping for the coming a Saviour who has been awaited for thousands of years and your best friend has just said it out loud, “He is here, now!” and it means everything has changed.

 

And so we come back to ourselves, standing there with Jesus, and his eyes come around the circle and rest on yours and He says, “But who do you say that I am?  Linda, or Bill or Wayne, who do you say that I am?”

 

Each of us has an image of Jesus in our heads as we imagine what he looked like on earth, and so now you have to picture him stopped in front of you, looking deeply right into your eyes and asking you the question.  Dou you believe your Saviour is here?

 

There is a story of one of the world’s most famous tightrope walkers, the great Blondin, who was famous for walking across Niagara Falls on a tightrope.  When the news spread that he would attempt this feat, a huge crowd gathered, even including the visiting King and Queen of England and as they watched - Blondin crossed the rope, first with a balancing bar, then pushing a wheelbarrow, and finally again – this time pushing the wheelbarrow with a donkey inside it - and he made it safely each time.

 

As the crowd roared its approval, Blondin asked them, “Who is the greatest tightrope walker of all?”  and they all cried out, “You are!”

 

So he asked them, “Do you believe I could do it again?” and they all shouted, “Yes!”

 

So he said, “Put your hand up if you really believe I could do it again.” And everyone in the crowd raised their hands, so Blondin said, “Who will come with me and ride in the wheelbarrow?”  All the hands went down and the crowd went quiet.

 

When Jesus asks you, “Who do you say that I am?” he is asking you to recognize he is God and that we must be ready to put aside our fears, our plans and step into the wheelbarrow for the ride.

 

It does no good to read this Gospel passage today if we aren’t ready to put ourselves in the place of the disciples and feel in our hearts that this question is for each one of us to answer.  Jesus knows we can’t be told he is the Saviour and that is why he told the disciples not to say it to anyone.  He knew then that the people of the time needed to come to their own decision and He knows that we have to come to ours.

 

Simon’s faith gave him the answer and God changed him to Peter and gave back to Peter the most responsible job in the world.  Peter’s faith showed his commitment, and even though his courage would fail him when he was tested later, his faith brought him back.  Peter’s faith became the rock that Christ could build on.  That same faith is available as a gift to each one of us if we will just pick it up and say, “Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Son of God!”

 

So today, when we come forward at communion, we face the Lord as his disciples did and Jesus presents himself to us through his minister who says, “The Body of Christ!”  And when he is there in front of you, so is his question, “Who do you say that I am?”

If you answer, “Amen!” then you really answer “I believe!”  and you really answer “Yes Lord, You are my Saviour, the Son of God!”  And like Peter we will be changed, we will become a rock, the next building block for the growing foundation of the kingdom of God here on earth, we will step into Christ’s wheelbarrow and follow his will.

So now we need to decide, how will we answer?